Free-call certificate service system

ABSTRACT

Disclosed herein is a free-call certificate service system. The free-call certificate service system is capable of returning a portion of the price for online/offline product purchase or fee for online/offline service use to a customer in the form of a free-call certificate, which allows the customer to conduct a telephone conversation free of charge up to a predetermined amout of money or for a predetermined period of time, as a reward for the product purchase or service use, so as to reduce the customer&#39;s burden of communication cost and thus enable the customer to enjoy a more tangible reward service.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to free-call certificate service systems,and more particularly to a free-call certificate service system which iscapable of distributing prepaid free-call certificates to customers toenable the customers to conduct telephone conversations free of chargeusing the free-call certificates, thereby reducing the customers'burdens of communication costs.

BACKGROUND ART

There have conventionally been proposed various online/offline rewardsystems, such as systems for offering mileage points or raffle couponsto customers as rewards for their use of credit cards or their productpurchases.

However, the conventional online/offline reward systems aredisadvantageous in that a customer cannot immediately enjoy a portion ofthe price for product purchase or fee for service use, returned theretoas a reward for the product purchase or service use, so he/she cannotimmediately perceive such a reward.

For example, provided that a customer is assigned mileage pointscorresponding to his/her credit card usage fee on a monthly basis,he/she will be able to use the assigned mileage points only when theamount of mileage points saved up to that time becomes greater than orequal to a predetermined value.

Meanwhile, in the case of raffle coupons offered as rewards for productpurchases, benefits are distributed to only a small minority ofcustomers drawing winning numbers.

As a result, from the viewpoint of the customers, there is no instantgratification in such conventional reward systems.

This inventor has researched a reward system which is capable ofovercoming the limitations of the above-mentioned conventional rewardsystems to enable customers to directly perceive rewards. As a result ofthe research, the inventor has developed a free-call certificate-basedreward system which is capable of returning a portion of the price foronline/offline product purchase or fee for online/offline service use toa customer in the form of a free-call certificate, which allows thecustomer to conduct a telephone conversation free of charge up to apredetermined amount of money or for a predetermined period of time, asa reward for the product purchase or service use, so as to reduce thecustomer's burden of communication cost and thus enable the customer toperceive the reward directly. Furthermore, the developed free-callcertificate-based reward system can exert advertising effects in variousmanners. For example, the free-call certificate may be provided in theform of a coupon containing a provider's advertisement. In conclusion,the inventor has developed a reward system using a free-call certificateapplicable to all fields of business and industry.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the aboveproblems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide afree-call certificate service system for returning a portion of theprice for online/offline product purchase or fee for online/offlineservice use to a customer in the form of a free-call certificate, whichallows the customer to conduct a telephone conversation free of chargeup to a predetermined amount of money or for a predetermined period oftime, as a reward for the product purchase or service use, so as toreduce the customer's burden of communication cost and thus enable thecustomer to enjoy a more tangible reward service.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, the above andother objects can be accomplished by the provision of a free-callcertificate service system comprising a free-call certificate managementserver including: a free-call certificate management database forstoring information regarding sales of free-call certificates sold toone or more affiliated stores, the free-call certificate saleinformation containing sub-total free-call times allocated respectivelyto the affiliated stores within the range of a total free-call timeallocated from at least one communication company; a free-call requestinformation receiver for receiving free-call request informationcontaining a telephone number of a customer acquiring a specific one ofthe free-call certificates and affiliated store identificationinformation from a specific one of one or more affiliated storeterminals held respectively by the affiliated stores; an authenticationprocessor for searching the sale information stored in the free-callcertificate management database for sale information corresponding tothe affiliated store identification information to determine whether thecorresponding sale information is present in the stored saleinformation, and performing an authentication process based on thedetermination result; and a free-call request information transmitterfor transmitting the free-call request information authenticated by theauthentication processor to a communication company server managed bythe communication company so that the communication company server candeduct the amount of money corresponding to an individual free-call timeallocated to the specific free-call certificate acquired by the customerfrom communication fees to be charged to the customer's telephone numbercontained in the free-call request information.

Preferably, the free-call certificate management server may furtherinclude: a free-call certificate purchase request informationtransmitter for transmitting free-call certificate purchase requestinformation containing the total free-call time to the communicationcompany server; and a free-call time allocation information receiver forreceiving, from the communication company server, free-call timeallocation information corresponding to the total free-call timecontained in the free-call certificate purchase request information.

The free-call certificate management server may further include: afree-call certificate purchase request information receiver forreceiving free-call certificate purchase request information containingeach of the sub-total free-call times from each of the affiliated storeterminals; and a free-call time allocation information transmitter fortransmitting free-call time allocation information correspondingrespectively to the sub-total free-call times contained in the free-callcertificate purchase request information received by the free-callcertificate purchase request information receiver respectively to theaffiliated store terminals.

The free-call certificate management server may further include asettlement requester for transmitting settlement request information toat least one financial company server to request it to settle theaffiliated stores' accounts for prices for purchases of the free-callcertificates, respectively, and then receiving results of settlementfrom the financial company server.

The free-call certificate management server may further include: arefund request information receiver for receiving refund requestinformation containing a returned amount of a corresponding one of thesub-total free-call times and the affiliated store identificationinformation from the specific affiliated store terminal; and a refundprocessor for, if the authentication processor searches the saleinformation stored in the free-call certificate management database forthe sale information corresponding to the affiliated storeidentification information to determine whether the corresponding saleinformation is present in the stored sale information, and authenticatesa specific one of the affiliated stores holding the specific affiliatedstore terminal as a result of the determination, requesting thefinancial company server through the settlement requester to pay thespecific affiliated store a refund corresponding to the returnedfree-call time amount contained in the refund request informationreceived by the refund request information receiver, and updating thefree-call certificate management database on the basis of the refundrequest information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of thepresent invention will be more clearly understood from the followingdetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a free-callcertificate service system according to a first embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 a is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the free-callcertificate service system of FIG. 1 in the case where free-callcertificates are sold in a resale scheme;

FIG. 2 b is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the free-callcertificate service system of FIG. 1 in the case where free-callcertificates are sold in a cooperative purchase scheme;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a free-callcertificate service system according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 4 a is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the free-callcertificate service system of FIG. 3 in the case where free-callcertificates are sold in a resale scheme; and

FIG. 4 b is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the free-callcertificate service system of FIG. 3 in the case where free-callcertificates are sold in a cooperative purchase scheme.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a free-callcertificate service system according to a first embodiment of thepresent invention.

In the present embodiment, the free-call certificate service system isadapted to provide free-call certificates to customers throughaffiliated stores in two schemes, one being a resale scheme wherein afree-call certificate management server purchases free-call certificatesfrom communication companies in large quantities and resells thepurchased free-call certificates to the affiliated stores and the storesprovide the resold certificates to the customers, and the other being acooperative purchase scheme wherein the free-call certificate managementserver collects and sums up the demands for free-call certificates fromthe affiliated stores, makes a cooperative purchase for the summed-upnumber of free-call certificates from the communication companies anddistributes the purchased free-call certificates to the affiliatedstores and the stores provide the distributed certificates to thecustomers.

The affiliated stores can provide the free-call certificates tocustomers as rewards for their product purchases or service use, or freeof charge to entice the customers for the purpose of gaining futureprofits therefrom. Therefore, the free-call certificates can be providedonline/offline to customers with or without compensation for manypurposes throughout society.

The free-call certificates can be provided in various forms such asoffline coupons containing a provider's advertisement, or electronicbarcodes in digital data format. That is, the free-call certificates canbe provided in various ways irrespective of form as long as they haveinformation regarding free calls.

With reference to FIG. 1, the free-call certificate service systemaccording to the first embodiment of the present invention comprises afree-call certificate management server 100, at least one communicationcompany server 200, one or more affiliated store terminals 300, at leastone customer terminal 400 and at least one financial company server 500.

The free-call certificate management server 100 acts to purchasefree-call certificates from communication companies, sell the purchasedfree-call certificates to affiliated stores, store information regardingthe sales of the purchased certificates and perform a customerrelationship management (CRM) process based on the stored free-callcertificate sale information.

The free-call certificate management server 100 is adapted to sellfree-call certificates in the following two schemes.

The first scheme is a resale scheme wherein the free-call certificatemanagement server purchases free-call certificates from thecommunication companies in large quantities and resells the purchasedfree-call certificates to the affiliated stores, and the stores providethe resold certificates to customers.

The second scheme is a cooperative purchase scheme wherein the free-callcertificate management server collects and sums up the demands forfree-call certificates from the affiliated stores, makes a cooperativepurchase for the summed-up number of free-call certificates from thecommunication companies and distributes the purchased free-callcertificates to the affiliated stores, and the stores provide thedistributed certificates to customers.

Note that the above-mentioned free-call certificate sale schemes arejust matters of sale procedure and have no effect on the configurationof the free-call certificate service system according to the presentembodiment.

In detail, the free-call certificate management server 100 includes afree-call certificate management database 110, a free-call requestinformation receiver 120, an authentication processor 130, a free-callrequest information transmitter 140, a free-call certificate purchaserequest information transmitter 150, a free-call time allocationinformation receiver 160, a free-call certificate purchase requestinformation receiver 170, a free-call time allocation informationtransmitter 180, a settlement requestor 190, a refund requestinformation receiver 191, and a refund processor 192.

The free-call certificate management database 110 is adapted to storeinformation regarding the sales of free-call certificates sold to one ormore affiliated stores. The free-call certificate sale informationcontains sub-total free-call times allocated respectively to theaffiliated stores within the range of a total free-call time allocatedfrom at least one communication company.

One or more wired/wireless communication companies provide telephoneservices to customers, and the customers select the communicationcompanies according to their tastes and receive the telephone servicesfrom the selected communication companies.

Therefore, the free-call certificate management server 100 preferablyperforms an integrated management process of requesting the purchase offree-call certificates from one or more communication companies,receiving free-call times allocated respectively from the communicationcompanies and storing information regarding the sales of free-callcertificates sold to respective affiliated stores, which informationcontains sub-total free-call times allocated respectively to theaffiliated stores within the range of a total amount of the free-calltimes allocated from the communication companies. This integratedmanagement process is well known to those skilled in the art and adetailed description thereof will thus be omitted.

The free-call certificate sale information further contains respectiveidentification information of the affiliated stores, the amount ornumber of free-call certificates purchased from each communicationcompany by each of the affiliated stores, the amount or number of thepurchased free-call certificates in stock, etc. The CRM process can beperformed on the basis of the free-call certificate sale information.

The free-call request information receiver 120 is adapted to receive,from a specific one of the affiliated store terminals 300, free-callrequest information containing a telephone number of a customeracquiring a free-call certificate and affiliated store identificationinformation.

Each affiliated store issues a free-call certificate to a customer as areward for his/her product purchase or service use and, using acorresponding one of the affiliated store terminals 300, inputsfree-call request information with a telephone number of the customeracquiring the free-call certificate to transmit it to the free-callcertificate management server 100. At this time, affiliated storeidentification information, such as a unique number set in thecorresponding affiliated store terminal 300, is transmitted to thefree-call certificate management server 100 together with the free-callrequest information.

As an alternative, the free-call request information containing thetelephone number of the customer acquiring the free-call certificate maybe inputted and transmitted to the free-call certificate managementserver 100 using the customer terminal 400, not the correspondingaffiliated store terminal 300, as will be described later in detail.

Each of the affiliated store terminals 300 may be, for example, adedicated terminal or personal computer installed in the correspondingaffiliated store, or a mobile communication terminal or personal digitalassistant (PDA) of the corresponding affiliated store.

The authentication processor 130 is adapted to search the saleinformation stored in the free-call certificate management database 110for sale information corresponding to the affiliated storeidentification information to determine whether the corresponding saleinformation is present in the stored sale information, and perform anauthentication process based on the determination result.

The sale information stored in the free-call certificate managementdatabase 110 contains respective identification information of theaffiliated stores, the amount or number of free-call certificatespurchased from each communication company by each of the affiliatedstores, the amount or number of the purchased free-call certificates instock, etc. The authentication processor 130 searches the stored saleinformation for the sale information corresponding to the affiliatedstore identification information transmitted from the specificaffiliated store terminal 300, received by the free-call requestinformation receiver 120, to determine whether the corresponding saleinformation is present in the stored sale information, and performs theauthentication process based on the determination result. In theauthentication process, the authentication processor 130 outputsauthentication information if the corresponding sale information ispresent in the stored sale information, and authentication failureinformation if the corresponding sale information is not present in thestored sale information. This technique for searching the database andperforming the authentication process based on the search result is wellknown to those skilled in the art and a detailed description thereofwill thus be omitted.

The free-call request information transmitter 140 is adapted to transmitthe free-call request information authenticated by the authenticationprocessor 130 to the communication company server 200 so that the server200 can deduct the amount of money corresponding to an individualfree-call time allocated to the free-call certificate acquired by thecustomer from communication fees to be charged to the customer'stelephone number contained in the free-call request information.

In other words, the free-call request information transmitter 140transmits the free-call request information containing the customer'stelephone number, authenticated by the authentication processor 130, tothe communication company server 200. A billing server of thecommunication company server 200 receives the free-call requestinformation transmitted from the free-call request informationtransmitter 140, deducts the amount of money corresponding to theindividual free-call time allocated to the free-call certificateacquired by the customer from communication fees of the next term to becharged to the customer's telephone number contained in the free-callrequest information, and issues the resulting communication fee bill tothe customer. As a result, the customer can enjoy a free-call serviceusing the free-call certificate as a reward for his/her online/offlineproduct purchase or service use. This has the effect of reducing thecustomer's burden of communication cost, which leads to a more tangiblereward.

The free-call certificate purchase request information transmitter 150is adapted to transmit free-call certificate purchase requestinformation containing a total free-call time to the communicationcompany server 200.

In other words, the free-call certificate management server 100 requeststhe purchase of free-call certificates with individual free-call timeswithin the range of a total free-call time from at least onecommunication company online/offline in the resale scheme or cooperativepurchase scheme. The offline purchase request can be made based on acontract, and the online purchase request can be made through the factthat the free-call certificate purchase request information transmitter150 transmits the free-call certificate purchase request informationcontaining the total free-call time to the communication company server200.

The free-call time allocation information receiver 160 is adapted toreceive, from the communication company server 200, free-call timeallocation information corresponding to the total free-call timecontained in the free-call certificate purchase request information.

That is, if the free-call certificate purchase request informationtransmitter 150 transmits the free-call certificate purchase requestinformation containing the total free-call time to the communicationcompany server 200, then the server 200 receives the transmittedfree-call certificate purchase request information, allocates the totalfree-call time contained therein to the free-call certificate managementserver 100 and transmits the resulting allocation information thereto.Then, the free-call time allocation information receiver 160 receivesthe free-call time allocation information transmitted from thecommunication company server 200 and stores it in the free-callcertificate management database 110.

The free-call certificate purchase request information receiver 170 isadapted to receive free-call certificate purchase request informationcontaining a sub-total free-call time from each of the affiliated storeterminals 300.

Each affiliated store desiring to provide free-call certificates tocustomers requests the purchase of free-call certificates withindividual free-call times within the range of a sub-total free-calltime corresponding to its demand from the free-call certificatemanagement server 100 online/offline. The offline purchase request canbe made based on a contract, and the online purchase request can be madethrough the fact that each of the affiliated store terminals 300transmits the free-call certificate purchase request informationcontaining the sub-total free-call time to the free-call certificatepurchase request information receiver 170.

The free-call time allocation information transmitter 180 is adapted totransmit free-call time allocation information correspondingrespectively to the sub-total free-call times contained in the free-callcertificate purchase request information received by the free-callcertificate purchase request information receiver 170 respectively tothe affiliated store terminals 300.

Upon receiving the free-call certificate purchase request informationcontaining the sub-total free-call time transmitted from each of theaffiliated store terminals 300, the free-call certificate managementserver 100 allocates the corresponding affiliated store the sub-totalfree-call time within the range of the total free-call time stored inthe free-call certificate management database 110 and transmits theresulting allocation information to the corresponding affiliated storeterminal 300 to sell free-call certificates with individual free-calltimes within the range of the sub-total free-call time to thecorresponding affiliated store. The free-call certificate managementserver 100 then stores information regarding the sales of the soldfree-call certificates in the free-call certificate management database110.

The settlement requestor 190 is adapted to transmit settlement requestinformation to the financial company server 500 to request it to settlethe affiliated stores' accounts for the prices for purchases of thefree-call certificates, respectively, and then receive results ofsettlement from the financial company server 500.

In other words, upon receiving the free-call certificate purchaserequest information transmitted from each of the affiliated storeterminals 300, the free-call certificate management server 100 transmitsa picture associated with settlement of a purchasing price correspondingto the sub-total free-call time contained in the received free-callcertificate purchase request information to the corresponding affiliatedstore terminal 300 to display it thereon. Thereafter, the settlementrequester 190 transmits settlement information inputted from thecorresponding affiliated store terminal 300 to the financial companyserver 500 to request it to settle the corresponding affiliated store'saccount for the purchasing price, and then receives a result ofsettlement from the financial company server 500.

This settlement process can be performed through an online accounttransfer or credit card settlement, and the settlement relatedtechniques are well known to those skilled in the art and a detaileddescription thereof will thus be omitted.

The refund request information receiver 191 is adapted to receive refundrequest information containing a returned amount of a corresponding oneof the sub-total free-call times and the affiliated store identificationinformation from the specific affiliated store terminal 300.

In the case where some of the free-call certificates purchased from thefree-call certificate management server 100 remain after beingdistributed to customers, each affiliated store can request a refund ofthe remaining free-call certificates online/offline. For the onlinerefund request, the refund request information with the returned amountof the sub-total free-call time transmitted from the specific affiliatedstore terminal 300 is received by the refund request informationreceiver 191.

The refund processor 192 is adapted to, if the authentication processor130 searches the sale information stored in the free-call certificatemanagement database 110 for the sale information corresponding to theaffiliated store identification information to determine whether thecorresponding sale information is present in the stored saleinformation, and authenticates the corresponding affiliated store as aresult of the determination, request the financial company server 500through the settlement requester 190 to pay the corresponding affiliatedstore a refund corresponding to the returned free-call time amountcontained in the refund request information received by the refundrequest information receiver 191, and update the free-call certificatemanagement database 110 on the basis of the refund request information.

That is, in response to the refund request information with the returnedsub-total free-call time amount transmitted from the specific affiliatedstore terminal 300 and received by the refund request informationreceiver 191, the refund processor 192 performs a refund process for thereturned free-call time amount after authentication by theauthentication processor 130. The authentication processor 130 searchesthe sale information stored in the free-call certificate managementdatabase 110 for the sale information corresponding to the affiliatedstore identification information to determine whether the correspondingsale information is present in the stored sale information, and performsthe authentication process based on the determination result. If theauthentication processor 130 authenticates the corresponding affiliatedstore as a result of the determination, the refund processor 192requests the financial company server 500 through the settlementrequester 190 to pay the corresponding affiliated store a refundcorresponding to the returned free-call time amount, and updates thefree-call certificate management database 110 on the basis of the refundrequest information.

On the other hand, it is preferable that a refund request and processbetween the free-call certificate management server 100 and thecommunication company is carried out offline, and a description thereofwill be omitted.

The communication company server 200 is adapted to allocate the totalfree-call time to the free-call certificate management server 100 and,in response to the free-call request information from the server 100,deduct the amount of money corresponding to the individual free-calltime allocated to the free-call certificate acquired by the customerfrom communication fees to be charged to the customer's telephone numbercontained in the free-call request information.

Each of the affiliated store terminals 300 is adapted to transmitfree-call request information with a customer's telephone number andaffiliated store identification information for authentication to thefree-call certificate management server 100.

Each of the affiliated store terminals 300 is also adapted to transmitthe free-call certificate purchase request information containing acorresponding one of the sub-total free-call times to the free-callcertificate management server 100 and receive the free-call timeallocation information corresponding to the corresponding sub-totalfree-call time contained in the free-call certificate purchase requestinformation from the free-call certificate management server 100.

The customer terminal 400 is adapted to receive guide information aboutthe free-call service from the free-call certificate management server100 and perform a telephone call using a free-call certificate issued toa corresponding customer.

The customer terminal 400 is preferably a wireless communicationterminal such as a mobile telephone, PDA or etc. In this case, thefree-call certificate management server 100 may transmit the guideinformation about the free-call service to the wireless communicationterminal in the form of a short message service (SMS) message.

The financial company server 500 is adapted to process the settlementassociated with the free-call certificate purchase request informationfrom each of the affiliated store terminals.

That is, the free-call certificate management server 100 receives thefree-call certificate purchase request information transmitted from eachof the affiliated store terminals 300 and transmits the pictureassociated with the settlement of the purchasing price corresponding tothe sub-total free-call time contained in the received free-callcertificate purchase request information to the corresponding affiliatedstore terminal 300 to display it thereon. Thereafter, the free-callcertificate management server 100 transmits the settlement informationinputted from the corresponding affiliated store terminal 300 to thefinancial company server 500 to request it to settle the correspondingaffiliated store's account for the purchasing price. In response to thesettlement request, the financial company server 500 settles thecorresponding affiliated store's account for the purchasing price andtransmits the settlement result to the free-call certificate managementserver 100.

The settlement process by the financial company server 500 can beperformed through an online account transfer or credit card settlement,and the settlement related techniques are well known to those skilled inthe art and a detailed description thereof will thus be omitted.

The operation of the free-call certificate service system with theabove-stated configuration according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention will hereinafter be described in detail with referenceto FIGS. 2 a and 2 b.

FIG. 2 a is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the free-callcertificate service system of FIG. 1 in the case where free-callcertificates are sold in the resale scheme.

First, at step S110, the free-call certificate purchase requestinformation transmitter 150 in the free-call certificate managementserver 100 transmits free-call certificate purchase request informationcontaining a total free-call time to the communication company server200.

At step S120, the free-call time allocation information receiver 160 inthe free-call certificate management server 100 receives free-call timeallocation information corresponding to the total free-call timecontained in the free-call certificate purchase request information fromthe communication company server 200 and stores the received allocationinformation in the free-call certificate management database 110.

At step S130, the free-call certificate purchase request informationreceiver 170 in the free-call certificate management server 100 receivesfree-call certificate purchase request information containing sub-totalfree-call times from the affiliated store terminals 300, and thesettlement requestor 190 in the free-call certificate management server100 requests the financial company server 500 to settle thecorresponding affiliated stores' accounts for free-call certificatepurchasing prices corresponding respectively to the sub-total free-calltimes contained in the free-call certificate purchase requestinformation received by the free-call certificate purchase requestinformation receiver 170, and then receives results of settlement fromthe financial company server 500.

At step S140, the free-call time allocation information transmitter 180in the free-call certificate management server 100 transmits free-calltime allocation information corresponding respectively to the sub-totalfree-call times contained in the free-call certificate purchase requestinformation received by the free-call certificate purchase requestinformation receiver 170 respectively to the affiliated store terminals300 to sell free-call certificates with individual free-call timeswithin the ranges of the sub-total free-call times to the correspondingaffiliated stores, and then stores information regarding the sales ofthe sold free-call certificates in the free-call certificate managementdatabase 110.

At step S150, the free-call request information receiver 120 in thefree-call certificate management server 100 receives, from a specificone of the affiliated store terminals 300, free-call request informationcontaining a telephone number of a customer acquiring a free-callcertificate and affiliated store identification information.

At step S160, the authentication processor 130 in the free-callcertificate management server 100 searches the sale information storedin the free-call certificate management database 110 for saleinformation corresponding to the affiliated store identificationinformation to determine whether the corresponding sale information ispresent in the stored sale information, and performs an authenticationprocess based on the determination result.

At step S170, the free-call request information transmitter 140 in thefree-call certificate management server 100 transmits the free-callrequest information authenticated by the authentication processor 130 tothe communication company server 200 so that the server 200 can deductthe amount of money corresponding to an individual free-call timeallocated to the free-call certificate acquired by the customer fromcommunication fees to be charged to the customer's telephone numbercontained in the free-call request information.

At step S180, the refund request information receiver 191 in thefree-call certificate management server 100 receives, refund requestinformation containing a returned amount of a corresponding one of thesub-total free-call times and the affiliated store identificationinformation from the specific affiliated store terminal 300. If theauthentication processor 130 searches the sale information stored in thefree-call certificate management database 110 for the sale informationcorresponding to the affiliated store identification information todetermine whether the corresponding sale information is present in thestored sale information, and authenticates the corresponding affiliatedstore as a result of the determination, the refund processor 192 in thefree-call certificate management server 100 requests the financialcompany server 500 through the settlement requestor 190 to pay thecorresponding affiliated store a refund corresponding to the returnedfree-call time amount contained in the refund request informationreceived by the refund request information receiver 191, and updates thefree-call certificate management database 110 on the basis of the refundrequest information.

FIG. 2 b is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the free-callcertificate service system of FIG. 1 in the case where free-callcertificates are sold in the cooperative purchase scheme.

First, at step S210, the free-call certificate purchase requestinformation receiver 170 in the free-call certificate management server100 receives respective free-call certificate purchase requestinformation containing sub-total free-call times from the affiliatedstore terminals 300 and sums up the sub-total free-call times, and thesettlement requestor 190 in the free-call certificate management server100 requests the financial company server 500 to settle thecorresponding affiliated stores' accounts for free-call certificatepurchasing prices corresponding respectively to the sub-total free-calltimes contained in the free-call certificate purchase requestinformation from the affiliated store terminals 300, and then receivesresults of settlement from the financial company server 500. At stepS220, the free-call certificate purchase request information transmitter150 in the free-call certificate management server 100 transmitsfree-call certificate purchase request information containing a totalfree-call time, which is the summed-up amount of the sub-total free-calltimes, to the communication company server 200.

At step S230, the free-call time allocation information receiver 160 inthe free-call certificate management server 100 receives free-call timeallocation information corresponding to the total free-call timecontained in the free-call certificate purchase request information fromthe communication company server 200.

At step S240, the free-call time allocation information transmitter 180in the free-call certificate management server 100 transmits free-calltime allocation information corresponding respectively to the sub-totalfree-call times contained in the free-call certificate purchase requestinformation received by the free-call certificate purchase requestinformation receiver 170 respectively to the affiliated store terminals300 to sell free-call certificates with individual free-call timeswithin the ranges of the sub-total free-call times to the correspondingaffiliated stores, and then stores information regarding the sales ofthe free-call certificates sold to the respective affiliated stores inthe free-call certificate management database 110.

At step S250, the free-call request information receiver 120 in thefree-call certificate management server 100 receives, from a specificone of the affiliated store terminals 300, free-call request informationcontaining a telephone number of a customer acquiring a free-callcertificate and affiliated store identification information.

At step S260, the authentication processor 130 in the free-callcertificate management server 100 searches the sale information storedin the free-call certificate management database 110 for saleinformation corresponding to the affiliated store identificationinformation to determine whether the corresponding sale information ispresent in the stored sale information, and performs an authenticationprocess based on the determination result.

At step S270, the free-call request information transmitter 140 in thefree-call certificate management server 100 transmits the free-callrequest information authenticated by the authentication processor 130 tothe communication company server 200 so that the server 200 can deductthe amount of money corresponding to an individual free-call timeallocated to the free-call certificate acquired by the customer fromcommunication fees to be charged to the customer's telephone numbercontained in the free-call request information.

At step S280, the refund request information receiver 191 in thefree-call certificate management server 100 receives refund requestinformation containing a returned amount of a corresponding one of thesub-total free-call times and the affiliated store identificationinformation from the specific affiliated store terminal 300. If theauthentication processor 130 searches the sale information stored in thefree-call certificate management database 110 for the sale informationcorresponding to the affiliated store identification information todetermine whether the corresponding sale information is present in thestored sale information, and authenticates the corresponding affiliatedstore as a result of the determination, the refund processor 192 in thefree-call certificate management server 100 requests the financialcompany server 500 through the settlement requester 190 to pay thecorresponding affiliated store a refund corresponding to the returnedfree-call time amount contained in the refund request informationreceived by the refund request information receiver 191, and updates thefree-call certificate management database 110 on the basis of the refundrequest information.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a free-callcertificate service system according to a second embodiment of thepresent invention.

In the second embodiment, the free-call certificate service system isadapted to provide free-call certificates to customers directly withoutusing affiliated stores, in a different manner from the firstembodiment. Free-call certificates can be provided to the customers intwo schemes, one being a resale scheme wherein a free-call certificatemanagement server purchases free-call certificates from communicationcompanies and sells the purchased free-call certificates directly to thecustomers, and the other being a cooperative purchase scheme wherein thefree-call certificate management server collects and sums up the demandsfor free-call certificates from the customers, makes a cooperativepurchase for the summed-up number of free-call certificates from thecommunication companies and distributes the purchased free-callcertificates to the customers.

A free-call certificate service provider can provide free-callcertificates to customers as rewards for their product purchases orservice use, or free of charge to entice the customers for the purposeof gaining future profits therefrom. Therefore, the free-callcertificates can be provided online/offline to customers with or withoutcompensation for many purposes throughout society.

The free-call certificates can be provided in various forms such asoffline coupons containing the provider's advertisement, or electronicbarcodes in digital data format. That is, the free-call certificates canbe provided in various ways irrespective of form as long as they haveinformation regarding free calls.

With reference to FIG. 3, the free-call certificate service systemaccording to the second embodiment of the present invention comprises afree-call certificate management server 100, at least one communicationcompany server 200, one or more customer terminals 400 and at least onefinancial company server 500.

The free-call certificate management server 100 acts to purchasefree-call certificates from communication companies, sell the purchasedfree-call certificates to customers, store information regarding thesales of the purchased certificates and perform a CRM process based onthe stored free-call certificate sale information.

The free-call certificate management server 100 is adapted to sellfree-call certificates in the following two schemes.

The first scheme is a resale scheme wherein the free-call certificatemanagement server purchases free-call certificates from thecommunication companies in large quantities and sells the purchasedfree-call certificates to customers with or without compensation.

The second scheme is a cooperative purchase scheme wherein the free-callcertificate management server collects and sums up the demands forfree-call certificates from customers, makes a cooperative purchase forthe summed-up number of free-call certificates from the communicationcompanies and distributes the purchased free-call certificates to thecustomers.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned free-call certificate saleschemes are just matters of sale procedure and have no effect on theconfiguration of the free-call certificate service system according tothe present embodiment.

In detail, the free-call certificate management server 100 includes afree-call certificate management database 110, a free-call requestinformation receiver 120, an authentication processor 130, a free-callrequest information transmitter 140, a free-call certificate purchaserequest information transmitter 150, a free-call time allocationinformation receiver 160, a free-call certificate purchase requestinformation receiver 170, a free-call time allocation informationtransmitter 180, a settlement requester 190, a refund requestinformation receiver 191, and a refund processor 192.

The free-call certificate management database 110 is adapted to storeinformation regarding the sales of free-call certificates sold to one ormore customers. The free-call certificate sale information containssub-total free-call times allocated respectively to the customers withinthe range of a total free-call time allocated from at least onecommunication company.

One or more wired/wireless communication companies provide telephoneservices to customers, and the customers select the communicationcompanies according to their tastes and receive the telephone servicesfrom the selected communication companies.

Hence, the free-call certificate management server 100 preferablyperforms an integrated management process of requesting the purchase offree-call certificates from one or more communication companies,receiving free-call times allocated respectively from the communicationcompanies and storing information regarding the sales of free-callcertificates sold to respective customers, which information containssub-total free-call times allocated respectively to the customers withinthe range of a total amount of the free-call times allocated from thecommunication companies. This integrated management process is wellknown to those skilled in the art and a detailed description thereofwill thus be omitted.

The free-call certificate sale information further contains respectiveidentification information of the customers, the amount or number offree-call certificates purchased from each communication company by eachof the customers, the amount or number of the purchased free-callcertificates in stock, etc. The CRM process can be performed on thebasis of the free-call certificate sale information.

The free-call request information receiver 120 is adapted to receivefree-call request information containing a telephone number of aspecific one of the customers acquiring a free-call certificate from aspecific one of the customer terminals 400.

The free-call certificate management server 100 distributes free-callcertificates to customers with or without compensation, and any one ofthe customers acquiring at least one of the free-call certificatesinputs free-call request information containing his/her telephone numberusing the corresponding customer terminal 400 to transmit it to thefree-call certificate management server 100.

The authentication processor 130 is adapted to search the saleinformation stored in the free-call certificate management database 110for sale information corresponding to the specific customer's telephonenumber to determine whether the corresponding sale information ispresent in the stored sale information, and perform an authenticationprocess based on the determination result.

The sale information stored in the free-call certificate managementdatabase 110 contains respective identification information of thecustomers containing the customers' telephone numbers, the amount ornumber of free-call certificates purchased from each communicationcompany by each of the customers, the amount or number of the purchasedfree-call certificates in stock, etc. The authentication processor 130searches the stored sale information for the sale informationcorresponding to the specific customer's telephone number transmittedfrom the specific customer terminal 400, received by the free-callrequest information receiver 120, to determine whether the correspondingsale information is present in the stored sale information, and performsthe authentication process based on the determination result. In theauthentication process, the authentication processor 130 outputsauthentication information if the corresponding sale information ispresent in the stored sale information, and authentication failureinformation if the corresponding sale information is not present in thestored sale information. This technique for searching the database andperforming the authentication process based on the search result is wellknown to those skilled in the art and a detailed description thereofwill thus be omitted.

The free-call request information transmitter 140 is adapted to transmitthe free-call request information authenticated by the authenticationprocessor 130 to the communication company server 200 so that the server200 can deduct the amount of money corresponding to an individualfree-call time allocated to the free-call certificate acquired by thespecific customer from communication fees to be charged to the specificcustomer's telephone number contained in the free-call requestinformation.

That is, the free-call request information transmitter 140 transmits thefree-call request information containing the specific customer'stelephone number, authenticated by the authentication processor 130, tothe communication company server 200. A billing server of thecommunication company server 200 receives the free-call requestinformation transmitted from the free-call request informationtransmitter 140, deducts the amount of money corresponding to theindividual free-call time allocated to the free-call certificateacquired by the specific customer from communication fees of the nextterm to be charged to the specific customer's telephone number containedin the free-call request information, and issues the resultingcommunication fee bill to the customer. As a result, the customer canenjoy a free-call service using the free-call certificate as a rewardfor his/her online/offline product purchase or service use. This has theeffect of reducing the customer's burden of communication cost, whichleads to a more tangible reward.

The free-call certificate purchase request information transmitter 150is adapted to transmit free-call certificate purchase requestinformation containing a total free-call time to the communicationcompany server 200.

Namely, the free-call certificate management server 100 requests thepurchase of free-call certificates with individual free-call timeswithin the range of a total free-call time from at least onecommunication company online/offline in the resale scheme or cooperativepurchase scheme. The offline purchase request can be made based on acontract, and the online purchase request can be made through the factthat the free-call certificate purchase request information transmitter150 transmits the free-call certificate purchase request informationcontaining the total free-call time to the communication company server200.

The free-call time allocation information receiver 160 is adapted toreceive, from the communication company server 200, free-call timeallocation information corresponding to the total free-call timecontained in the free-call certificate purchase request information.

In other words, if the free-call certificate purchase requestinformation transmitter 150 transmits the free-call certificate purchaserequest information containing the total free-call time to thecommunication company server 200, then the server 200 receives thetransmitted free-call certificate purchase request information,allocates the total free-call time contained therein to the free-callcertificate management server 100 and transmits the resulting allocationinformation thereto. Then, the free-call time allocation informationreceiver 160 receives the free-call time allocation informationtransmitted from the communication company server 200 and stores it inthe free-call certificate management database 110.

The free-call certificate purchase request information receiver 170 isadapted to receive free-call certificate purchase request informationcontaining a sub-total free-call time from each of the customerterminals 400.

Each customer requests the purchase of free-call certificates withindividual free-call times within the range of a sub-total free-calltime corresponding to his/her demand from the free-call certificatemanagement server 100 online/offline. The online purchase request can bemade through the fact that the corresponding customer terminal 400transmits the free-call certificate purchase request informationcontaining the sub-total free-call time to the free-call certificatepurchase request information receiver 170.

The free-call time allocation information transmitter 180 is adapted totransmit free-call time allocation information correspondingrespectively to the sub-total free-call times contained in the free-callcertificate purchase request information received by the free-callcertificate purchase request information receiver 170 respectively tothe customer terminals 400.

If the free-call certificate management server 100 receives thefree-call certificate purchase request information containing thesub-total free-call time transmitted from each of the customer terminals400, then it allocates the corresponding customer the sub-totalfree-call time within the range of the total free-call time stored inthe free-call certificate management database 110 and transmits theresulting allocation information to the corresponding customer terminal400 to sell free-call certificates with individual free-call timeswithin the range of the sub-total free-call time to the correspondingcustomer. The free-call certificate management server 100 then storesinformation regarding the sales of the sold free-call certificates inthe free-call certificate management database 110.

The settlement requester 190 is adapted to transmit settlement requestinformation to the financial company server 500 to request it to settlethe customers' accounts for the prices for purchases of the free-callcertificates, respectively, and then receive results of settlement fromthe financial company server 500.

In other words, upon receiving the free-call certificate purchaserequest information transmitted from each of the customer terminals 400,the free-call certificate management server 100 transmits a pictureassociated with settlement of a purchasing price corresponding to thesub-total free-call time contained in the received free-call certificatepurchase request information to the corresponding customer terminal 400to display it thereon. Thereafter, the settlement requester 190transmits settlement information inputted from the customer terminal 400to the financial company server 500 to request it to settle thecorresponding customer's account for the purchasing price, and thenreceives a result of settlement from the financial company server 500.

This settlement process can be performed through an online accounttransfer or credit card settlement, and the settlement relatedtechniques are well known to those skilled in the art and a detaileddescription thereof will thus be omitted.

The refund request information receiver 191 is adapted to receive refundrequest information containing the specific customer's telephone numberand a returned amount of a corresponding one of the sub-total free-calltimes from the specific customer terminal 400.

If desired, each customer can request a refund of some or all of thefree-call certificates purchased from the free-call certificatemanagement server 100 online/offline. For the online refund request, therefund request information with the returned amount of the sub-totalfree-call time transmitted from the specific customer terminal 400 isreceived by the refund request information receiver 191.

The refund processor 192 is adapted to, if the authentication processor130 searches the sale information stored in the free-call certificatemanagement database 110 for the sale information corresponding to thespecific customer's telephone number to determine whether thecorresponding sale information is present in the stored saleinformation, and authenticates the specific customer as a result of thedetermination, request the financial company server 500 through thesettlement requester 190 to pay the specific customer a refundcorresponding to the returned free-call time amount contained in therefund request information received by the refund request informationreceiver 191, and update the free-call certificate management database110 on the basis of the refund request information.

That is, in response to the refund request information with the returnedsub-total free-call time amount transmitted from the specific customerterminal 400 and received by the refund request information receiver191, the refund processor 192 performs a refund process for the returnedfree-call time amount after authentication by the authenticationprocessor 130. The authentication processor 130 searches the saleinformation stored in the free-call certificate management database 110for the sale information corresponding to the specific customer'stelephone number to determine whether the corresponding sale informationis present in the stored sale information, and performs theauthentication process based on the determination result. If theauthentication processor 130 authenticates the specific customer as aresult of the determination, the refund processor 192 requests thefinancial company server 500 through the settlement requestor 190 to paythe specific customer a refund corresponding to the returned free-calltime amount, and updates the free-call certificate management database110 on the basis of the refund request information.

On the other hand, it is preferable that a refund request and processbetween the free-call certificate management server 100 and thecommunication company is carried out offline, and a description thereofwill be omitted.

The communication company server 200 is adapted to allocate the totalfree-call time to the free-call certificate management server 100 and,in response to the free-call request information from the server 100,deduct the amount of money corresponding to the individual free-calltime allocated to the free-call certificate acquired by the specificcustomer from communication fees to be charged to the specificcustomer's telephone number contained in the free-call requestinformation.

Each of the customer terminals 400 is adapted to receive guideinformation about the free-call service from the free-call certificatemanagement server 100 and perform a telephone call using a free-callcertificate issued to the corresponding customer.

Each of the customer terminals 400 is preferably a wirelesscommunication terminal such as a mobile telephone, PDA or etc. In thiscase, the free-call certificate management server 100 may transmit theguide information about the free-call service to the wirelesscommunication terminal in the form of an SMS message.

The financial company server 500 is adapted to process the settlementassociated with the free-call certificate purchase request informationfrom each of the customer terminals 400.

That is, the free-call certificate management server 100 receives thefree-call certificate purchase request information transmitted from eachof the customer terminals 400 and transmits the picture associated withthe settlement of the purchasing price corresponding to the sub-totalfree-call time contained in the received free-call certificate purchaserequest information to the corresponding customer terminal 400 todisplay it thereon. Thereafter, the free-call certificate managementserver 100 transmits the settlement information inputted from thecustomer terminal 400 to the financial company server 500 to request itto settle the corresponding customer's account for the purchasing price.In response to the settlement request, the financial company server 500settles the corresponding customer's account for the purchasing priceand transmits the settlement result to the free-call certificatemanagement server 100.

The settlement process by the financial company server 500 can beperformed through an online account transfer or credit card settlement,and the settlement related techniques are well known to those skilled inthe art and a detailed description thereof will thus be omitted.

The operation of the free-call certificate service system with theabove-stated configuration according to the second embodiment of thepresent invention will hereinafter be described in detail with referenceto FIGS. 4 a and 4 b.

FIG. 4 a is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the free-callcertificate service system of FIG. 3 in the case where free-callcertificates are sold in the resale scheme.

First, at step S310, the free-call certificate purchase requestinformation transmitter 150 in the free-call certificate managementserver 100 transmits free-call certificate purchase request informationcontaining a total free-call time to the communication company server200.

At step S320, the free-call time allocation information receiver 160 inthe free-call certificate management server 100 receives free-call timeallocation information corresponding to the total free-call timecontained in the free-call certificate purchase request information fromthe communication company server 200 and stores the received allocationinformation in the free-call certificate management database 110.

At step S330, the free-call certificate purchase request informationreceiver 170 in the free-call certificate management server 100 receivesfree-call certificate purchase request information containing sub-totalfree-call times from the customer terminals 400, and the settlementrequestor 190 in the free-call certificate management server 100requests the financial company server 500 to settle the correspondingcustomers' accounts for free-call certificate purchasing pricescorresponding respectively to the sub-total free-call times contained inthe free-call certificate purchase request information received by thefree-call certificate purchase request information receiver 170, andthen receives results of settlement from the financial company server500.

At step S340, the free-call time allocation information transmitter 180in the free-call certificate management server 100 transmits free-calltime allocation information corresponding respectively to the sub-totalfree-call times contained in the free-call certificate purchase requestinformation received by the free-call certificate purchase requestinformation receiver 170 respectively to the customer terminals 400 tosell free-call certificates with individual free-call times within theranges of the sub-total free-call times to the corresponding customers,and then stores information regarding the sales of the sold free-callcertificates in the free-call certificate management database 110.

At step S350, the free-call request information receiver 120 in thefree-call certificate management server 100 receives free-call requestinformation containing a telephone number of a specific one of thecustomers acquiring a free-call certificate from a specific one of thecustomer terminals 400.

At step S360, the authentication processor 130 in the free-callcertificate management server 100 searches the sale information storedin the free-call certificate management database 110 for saleinformation corresponding to the specific customer's telephone number todetermine whether the corresponding sale information is present in thestored sale information, and performs an authentication process based onthe determination result.

At step S370, the free-call request information transmitter 140 in thefree-call certificate management server 100 transmits the free-callrequest information authenticated by the authentication processor 130 tothe communication company server 200 so that the server 200 can deductthe amount of money corresponding to an individual free-call timeallocated to the free-call certificate acquired by the specific customerfrom communication fees to be charged to the specific customer'stelephone number contained in the free-call request information.

At step S380, the refund request information receiver 191 in thefree-call certificate management server 100 receives refund requestinformation containing the specific customer's telephone number and areturned amount of a corresponding one of the sub-total free-call timesfrom the specific customer terminal 400. If the authentication processor130 searches the sale information stored in the free-call certificatemanagement database 110 for the sale information corresponding to thespecific customer's telephone number to determine whether thecorresponding sale information is present in the stored saleinformation, and authenticates the specific customer as a result of thedetermination, the refund processor 192 in the free-call certificatemanagement server 100 requests the financial company server 500 throughthe settlement requester 190 to pay the specific customer a refundcorresponding to the returned free-call time amount contained in therefund request information received by the refund request informationreceiver 191, and updates the free-call certificate management database110 on the basis of the refund request information.

FIG. 4 b is a flow chart illustrating the operation of the free-callcertificate service system of FIG. 3 in the case where free-callcertificates are sold in the cooperative purchase scheme.

First, at step S410, the free-call certificate purchase requestinformation receiver 170 in the free-call certificate management server100 receives respective free-call certificate purchase requestinformation containing sub-total free-call times from the customerterminals 400 and sums up the sub-total free-call times, and thesettlement requestor 190 in the free-call certificate management server100 requests the financial company server 500 to settle thecorresponding customers' accounts for free-call certificate purchasingprices corresponding respectively to the sub-total free-call timescontained in the free-call certificate purchase request information fromthe customer terminals 400, and then receives results of settlement fromthe financial company server 500.

At step S420, the free-call certificate purchase request informationtransmitter 150 in the free-call certificate management server 100transmits free-call certificate purchase request information containinga total free-call time, which is the summed-up amount of the sub-totalfree-call times, to the communication company server 200.

At step S430, the free-call time allocation information receiver 160 inthe free-call certificate management server 100 receives free-call timeallocation information corresponding to the total free-call timecontained in the free-call certificate purchase request information fromthe communication company server 200.

At step S440, the free-call time allocation information transmitter 180in the free-call certificate management server 100 transmits free-calltime allocation information corresponding respectively to the sub-totalfree-call times contained in the free-call certificate purchase requestinformation received by the free-call certificate purchase requestinformation receiver 170 respectively to the customer terminals 400 tosell free-call certificates with individual free-call times within theranges of the sub-total free-call times to the corresponding customers,and then stores information regarding the sales of the free-callcertificates sold to the respective customers in the free-callcertificate management database 110.

At step S450, the free-call request information receiver 120 in thefree-call certificate management server 100 receives free-call requestinformation containing a telephone number of a specific one of thecustomers acquiring a free-call certificate from a specific one of thecustomer terminals 400.

At step S460, the authentication processor 130 in the free-callcertificate management server 100 searches the sale information storedin the free-call certificate management database 110 for saleinformation corresponding to the specific customer's telephone number todetermine whether the corresponding sale information is present in thestored sale information, and performs an authentication process based onthe determination result.

At step S470, the free-call request information transmitter 140 in thefree-call certificate management server 100 transmits the free-callrequest information authenticated by the authentication processor 130 tothe communication company server 200 so that the server 200 can deductthe amount of money corresponding to an individual free-call timeallocated to the free-call certificate acquired by the specific customerfrom communication fees to be charged to the specific customer'stelephone number contained in the free-call request information.

At step S480, the refund request information receiver 191 in thefree-call certificate management server 100 receives refund requestinformation containing the specific customer's telephone number and areturned amount of a corresponding one of the sub-total free-call timesfrom the specific customer terminal 400. If the authentication processor130 searches the sale information stored in the free-call certificatemanagement database 110 for the sale information corresponding to thespecific customer's telephone number to determine whether thecorresponding sale information is present in the stored saleinformation, and authenticates the specific customer as a result of thedetermination, the refund processor 192 in the free-call certificatemanagement server 100 requests the financial company server 500 throughthe settlement requestor 190 to pay the specific customer a refundcorresponding to the returned free-call time amount contained in therefund request information received by the refund request informationreceiver 191, and updates the free-call certificate management database110 on the basis of the refund request information.

In this manner, the free-call certificate service system according tothe present invention can accomplish the above-presented object.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As apparent from the above description, the present invention provides afree-call certificate service system which is capable of returning aportion of the price for online/offline product purchase or fee foronline/offline service use to a customer in the form of a free-callcertificate, which allows the customer to conduct a telephoneconversation free of charge up to a predetermined amount of, money orfor a predetermined period of time, as a reward for the product purchaseor service use, so as to reduce the customer's burden of communicationcost and thus enable the customer to enjoy a more tangible rewardservice. An affiliated store can provide free-call certificates tocustomers instead of discount benefits or thank-you gifts, therebyobtaining the effect of performing public relations, sales promotion andcustomer enticement. A communication company can fixedly sell free-callcertificates in large quantities, so as to increase sales and securestable earnings. A free-call certificate service provider can purchasethe free-call certificates from the communication company in largequantities at low price and resell them at higher price, so as to obtainresale profits.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have beendisclosed for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art willappreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions arepossible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the inventionas disclosed in the accompanying claims.

1. A free-call certificate service system comprising a free-callcertificate management server including: a free-call certificatemanagement database for storing information regarding sales of free-callcertificates sold to one or more affiliated stores, said free-callcertificate sale information containing sub-total free-call timesallocated respectively to the affiliated stores within the range of atotal free-call time allocated from at least one communication company;a free-call request information receiver for receiving free-call requestinformation containing a telephone number of a customer acquiring aspecific one of the free-call certificates and affiliated storeidentification information from a specific one of one or more affiliatedstore terminals held respectively by said affiliated stores; anauthentication processor for searching the sale information stored insaid free-call certificate management database for sale informationcorresponding to said affiliated store identification information todetermine whether the corresponding sale information is present in thestored sale information, and performing an authentication process basedon the determination result; and a free-call request informationtransmitter for transmitting said free-call request informationauthenticated by said authentication processor to a communicationcompany server managed by said communication company so that thecommunication company server can deduct the amount of moneycorresponding to an individual free-call time allocated to said specificfree-call certificate acquired by said customer from communication feesto be charged to said customer's telephone number contained in saidfree-call request information.
 2. The free-call certificate servicesystem as set forth in claim 1, wherein said free-call certificatemanagement server further includes: a free-call certificate purchaserequest information transmitter for transmitting free-call certificatepurchase request information containing said total free-call time tosaid communication company server; and a free-call time allocationinformation receiver for receiving, from said communication companyserver, free-call time allocation information corresponding to saidtotal free-call time contained in said free-call certificate purchaserequest information.
 3. The free-call certificate service system as setforth in claim 2, wherein said free-call certificate management serverfurther includes: a free-call certificate purchase request informationreceiver for receiving free-call certificate purchase requestinformation containing each of said sub-total free-call times from eachof said affiliated store terminals; and a free-call time allocationinformation transmitter for transmitting free-call time allocationinformation corresponding respectively to said sub-total free-call timescontained in said free-call certificate purchase request informationreceived by said free-call certificate purchase request informationreceiver respectively to said affiliated store terminals.
 4. Thefree-call certificate service system as set forth in claim 3, whereinsaid free-call certificate management server further includes asettlement requestor for transmitting settlement request information toat least one financial company server to request it to settle saidaffiliated stores' accounts for prices for purchases of said free-callcertificates, respectively, and then receiving results of settlementfrom said financial company server.
 5. The free-call certificate servicesystem as set forth in claim 4, wherein said free-call certificatemanagement server further includes: a refund request informationreceiver for receiving refund request information containing a returnedamount of a corresponding one of said sub-total free-call times and saidaffiliated store identification information from said specificaffiliated store terminal; and a refund processor for, if saidauthentication processor searches the sale information stored in saidfree-call certificate management database for the sale informationcorresponding to said affiliated store identification information todetermine whether the corresponding sale information is present in thestored sale information, and authenticates a specific one of saidaffiliated stores holding said specific affiliated store terminal as aresult of the determination, requesting said financial company serverthrough said settlement requestor to pay said specific affiliated storea refund corresponding to the returned free-call time amount containedin said refund request information received by said refund requestinformation receiver, and updating said free-call certificate managementdatabase on the basis of said refund request information.
 6. Thefree-call certificate service system as set forth in claim 1, furthercomprising said communication company server adapted for allocating saidtotal free-call time to said free-call certificate management serverand, in response to said free-call request information from saidfree-call certificate management server, deducting the amount of moneycorresponding to said individual free-call time allocated to saidspecific free-call certificate acquired by said customer from thecommunication fees to be charged to said customer's telephone numbercontained in said free-call request information.
 7. The free-callcertificate service system as set forth in claim 6, further comprisingsaid one or more affiliated store terminals, each adapted fortransmitting free-call request information containing a customer'stelephone number and affiliated store identification information forauthentication to said free-call certificate management server.
 8. Thefree-call certificate service system as set forth in claim 7, whereineach of said affiliated store terminals is further adapted to transmitsaid free-call certificate purchase request information containing acorresponding one of said sub-total free-call times to said free-callcertificate management server and receive said free-call time allocationinformation corresponding to the corresponding sub-total free-call timecontained in said free call certificate purchase request informationfrom the free-call certificate management server.
 9. The free-callcertificate service system as set forth in claim 7o, further comprisingsaid at least one financial company server adapted for processing thesettlement associated with said free-call certificate purchase requestinformation from each of said affiliated store terminals.
 10. Thefree-call certificate service system as set forth in claim 9, furthercomprising at least one customer terminal for receiving guideinformation about a free-call service from said tree-call certificatemanagement server and performing a telephone call using a free-callcertificate issued to a corresponding customer.
 11. The free-callcertificate service system as set forth in claim 10, wherein saidcustomer terminal is a wireless communication terminal, said wirelesscommunication terminal being any one of a mobile telephone or personaldigital assistant (PDA).
 12. The free-call certificate service system asset forth in claim 11, wherein said free-call certificate managementserver is adapted to transmit said guide information about saidfree-call service to said wireless communication terminal in the form ofa short message service (SMS) message. 13-22. (canceled)
 23. Thefree-call certificate service system as set forth in claim 8, furthercomprising said at least one financial company server adapted forprocessing the settlement associated with said free-call certificatepurchase request information from each of said affiliated storeterminals.